Following the recent disturbances in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, and the rumoured death of the spiritual leader of the Ombatse group, Baba Alakyo, Assistant Editor, BLESSING OLAIFA, undertook a visit to the North Central state to unravel the reasons behind the unending crises.
AFTER a long period of upheaval, peace appeared to have returned to Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, when our correspondent visited recently. Business activities in the state capital were running in full swing. Jos Road and Makurdi Road were their busy selves as shops, offices and motor parks were actively in business.
The foregoing was in total contrast to the situation in the state a week earlier when the streets were deserted and security operatives barricaded the roads and mounted surveillance to restore order. Life was literally put on suspension in the city as schools were shut and residents remained indoors until the riotous situation was brought under control.
Even on this day, one could still feel the hangover of the violence that had engulfed the state a week earlier. The response our reporter got from taxi drivers and commercial motorcycle operators at the Central Bank of Nigeria Motor Park when he asked to be taken to Alakyo village only brought back the memory of the previous week. They wasted no time to say no.
Not even the request for ‘drop’ (a term used by a commuter to indicate that he or she should be taken alone) would entice the taxi drivers. A taxi driver, who sympathised with the reporter’s predicament, had called a motorbike operator and asked whether the young man hailed from Eggon community so that he could take the reporter to Alakyo. Eggon is the most dominant ethnic group in Alakyo, and the spiritual leader of the Ombatse group, Baba Alakyo, lives in the community. The motorbike operator said he was not even an indigene of Nasarawa State.
Alakyo is the village where about 73 security operatives, mostly policemen and DSS agents, were reported to have been ambushed and killed on May 7, 2013, allegedly by the Ombatse militia group. The village was reported to have been invaded by yet to be identified Fulani group alongside other Eggon communities of Fadaman, Baung and Akura on Novermber 16. The invasion sparked off reprisal attacks that spread to Lafia and its environs the following week, forcing the state government to impose a curfew and restrict movements.
Incidentally, Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura had staged a peace walk within the state capital two days before the disturbance to mark his 62nd birthday. Al-Makura who was joined by residents during the peace walk, particularly motorbike riders and youths, later addressed the crowd, urging them to live peacefully with one another.
It was gathered that the raid on the village left scores of people dead, while properties were also destroyed. Amidst the crisis, it was rumoured that Baba Alakyo, whose real name was given as Lega Agu, had been killed during the invasion. Another version even added that the village head of Alakyo was also killed. The development, according to findings, triggered what looked like a reprisal attack against those perceived to have had hands in the invasion of Alakyo.
But before then, there was information from Barrister Zachary Zamani Allumaga, the legal adviser to the Ombatse group, that Baba Alakyo was alive, hale and hearty after all. Allummaga described those who peddled the rumour as “people who don’t mean well for peace in the area.”
The development somehow eased tension even though the Ombatse group had been proscribed by the government. The Nation leant from local Eggon people that Baba Alakyo is well respected and the activities of his group were largely misread or misrepresented. Hussaini Mohammed, the state Secretary of Miyetti Allah, a Fulani socio-cultural organisation, denied, however, that the Fulani were responsible for the invasion of Alakyo.
A highly placed security source in Lafia confirmed to The Nation that Baba Alakyo was alive and well and would speak on the invasion of his village at the appropriate time. The source said Baba Alakyo was not affected by the invasion of the village on November 16. He maintained that from the evidence available, the spiritual leader of the Ombatse group was yet alive.
The Nation investigation revealed that inter-ethnic crises in Nasarawa State are rooted in a number of factors, including political and economic dominance, religious intolerance, marginalisation, unemployment, quest for self-expression, indigene/settler dichotomy, prolonged neglect of the people by successive administrations, poverty, lack of access to quality education, inequality and injustice.
Barrister Uchea Guwa, a Lafia-based lawyer, blamed the situation on lack of focus by governments across the nation. He said immediately after Nigeria’s independence, those who took over the leadership of the country embarked on competitive development efforts at the regional levels. This competition, he said, worked because the government had focus and the administrations were people-oriented. But after the collapse of the First Republic, successive governments, according to him, changed focus.
He said Nigeria, from the outset, was made up of people from different ethnic groups and religion, yet people lived peacefully together. He said the situation has been made worse by politicians who feel that once they have the reins of power, their attention should be focused on their immediate family, friends and how to win the next election.
He said for the states and the country to work for everybody, education should be the focus, while equal opportunities should be created for all Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic or religious backgrounds.
According to him, to solve the problem, government should care for the needs of the average citizen, especially in the areas of security of lives and property, secured environment, good health facilities and good homes. He insisted that once government places emphasis on this, people would naturally live in peace with one another. Guwa added that lack of opportunities, particularly for the youth, were the reasons why they were available for unrest, riots and robbery.
Similarly, the Nasarawa State coordinator of Justice and Human Empowerment Centre, Christopher Aku, said the NGO had been involved in various advocacy programmes to advance the socio-economic development of the people, especially the youth and the downtrodden. Aku said the violence in Nasarawa State was a huge setback for the people as it created an air of suspicion and mistrust among the people.
Aku canvassed for massive enlightenment campaigns to re-orientate the youth, insisting that government should also embark on ventures that would heal wounds and build confidence among the population. He frowned at a situation where politicians engaged the youth only for political rallies. He said politicians should instead empower the youths and involve them in productive activities rather than use them for selfish ends.
Aku expressed fears that the disturbances in Nasarawa State might lead to a situation where residents would travel home for Christmas and refuse to return until after the 2015 elections. He said government and the security agencies should do more in this regard by building confidence in the people and reassuring them of their safety and security in the state.
One of the state’s opinion leaders, Mallam Idris Ishaku Mohammed, told The Nation in Lafia that people had been living peacefully together until the advent of democracy brought a lot of sentiment, hatred and religious intolerance to the table. Mohammed said the state government should, in addition to the ongoing peace efforts, implement the report of the panels that sat on some of the crises that engulfed the state in the past.
He said besides, the political elite should give peace a chance by cooperating with the government of the day. According to him, Governor Tanko Al-Makura had indicated interest in working with traditional institutions, religious leaders and leaders of thought across the length and breadth of the state; it is imperative therefore for the elite to support him.
Meanwhile, in addressing the security challenges facing Nasarawa State, the state police command said all security agencies were being mobilised to tackle the problem. The Command spokesperson, Ugochukwu Theodore (DSP), said for now, surveillance was being carried out at strategic locations and flashpoints across the state. He added that security personnel had been instructed to conduct stop and search on vehicles and persons with a view to checking illegal possession of weapons and dangerous arms. He said they are also to enforce the 6 am to 6 pm restriction on movements.
He said there was no need for people to panic ahead of the 2015 elections because adequate arrangement had been made by security agencies to nip in the bud any act of disturbance. Theodore said the command is currently interrogating those arrested in respect of the recent upheaval in the state, while a full scale investigation had been launched to unravel those behind the crisis.
He said those involved would be charged to court once investigation was concluded.
Governor Umaru Al-Makura’s media aide, Yakubu Lamai, told The Nation that prior to the crisis, the governor had undertaken series of meetings with stakeholders across the state. He explained that the governor initiated multi-faceted approaches to nip in the bud any form of unrest in the state be they political, economic, socio-cultural or religion.
Lamai said the complex nature of conflicts in contemporary world also means that government’s approach in resolving them or stopping them from happening at all has to be pragmatic and dynamic. Government, he added, was well aware of the challenges and no stone would be left unturned to minimise conflicts and disturbances in the state. Lamai said peace and harmonious coexistence among the various ethnic groups in the state remain sine qua non to the development of Nasarawa State.
He enjoined the people to show love and understanding towards one another, noting that the government would always appreciate their cooperation.
